If like me you have a need to configure HomePlug Powerline devices but don’t have a Windoze PC, I found a simple tool written by Manuel Kasper that compiles on most BSDs and Mac OS X and allows you to set the network encryption key without running any Windoze software.
The program is called plconfig and it communicates with most Intellon chipset based PowerPacket bridges.
In a previous entry I bemoaned the proliferation of wireless devices and the unseen fog of wireless transmissions around the home. A new(ish) technology – HomePlug Powerline – goes some of the way to alleviate this.
HomePlug works by sending data signals around the domestic electricity ring main, much in the same way as broadband is delivered alongside your standard telephone line. The HomePlug devices act as ethernet bridges, so to attach to the network you simply plug a HomePlug device into a free mains outlet, connect up your ethernet cable and away you go.
HomePlug 1.0 specification devices provide up to 85Mbps bandwidth and are compatible with each other so you can mix and match types. The newer HomePlug AV specifications claims up to 200Mbps, although I have not tried these yet.
Since installing these devices I have been able to do away with Wi-Fi entirely, thus providing a safer electromagnetic environment and more secure network.
I recommend Solwise for their HomePlug range of products. Delivery has been next day and the products very reliable.
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